In Her Own Little World
by Kay ex Kay
Summary: Hiruma needs a tutor! -or does he? :P- He's having academic trouble and needs to improve in order to stay in sports! So he asks the second smartest second year in Deimon High, Kamiya Mayuri--Mamori's best -female- friend! some OOCness. HirumaxOC
1. Chapter 1: Tutor, Please!

**Author's note**: lol. My first fanfic! Hope it's not too bad…XD.. may be somewhat OOC though…oh, and in the story, _italics_ are for thoughts/feelings. Mostly. :P

Technically… this is supposed to be a humor/friendship/romance fanfic… so have fun reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri (and her family).

Disclaimer PS: Turns out this story had been a lot more OOC than expected...sooo...

Update 12/26/08: Chapter 1 now rewritten! ^^

Update 2/28/09: **This fic used to be called "Stop Cussing, Hiruma!", then "In Her Own Little World: aka Stop Cussing, Hiruma!" -- now the transition to its final title is complete. **

* * *

**Rewritten version of Chapter 1**

**In Her Own Little World  
**

Chapter 1: Tutor, Please!

~**on**~

"Hey, you! Kamiya! Over here!"

"Oh. Hiruma-kun." Surprised, Kamiya Mayuri carefully picked her way across the crowded classroom. _Lunch period in this classroom is so busy… and loud. And here I was hoping to study in peace. So much for THAT._ She finally managed, heaping textbooks and all, to reach the corner where her classmate Hiruma Youichi – whom most in the school tried to avoid, considering his often demonlike demeanor – waited impatiently. "Ano… do you need help?"

"OF COURSE, you…! Why else would I call you?!?" Hiruma sputtered. "Okay. I demand your help! You're the smartest girl out of the entire second year population in this school! And I'm having trouble in some of my classes (**A/N**: Actually, not really. Hiruma's genius but devious brain probably has other motives… :P… to be revealed later! Kamiya doesn't know that though.), but I need to have at least a 2.0 GPA to stay in sports. And there's NO WAY I'm quitting the American football club… not to mention we're short on members as it is. So you WILL tutor me. OR ELSE."

Kamiya winced at the muttered expletives, overheard with her sharp ears even in the noisy classroom. _Ehhhh…. This guy…! I am SO tempted to say no… the NERVE of him to just randomly demand this… interrupting a girl's busy schedule…wait. Smartest "girl". Why not Yukimitsu?... and all the while, as usual, not being very polite! WAIT A MINUTE! Didn't he just call me without… an… honorific…how…! Calm down, Mayuri, don't let that, or his mind games, get to you. Anyway, I offered help in the first place… oh. But then, he IS notorious for his blackmailing network. Not that I have anything to be blackmailed for anyway. I think. And he DID sort of threaten me just now.. And I probably do have some responsibility to help classmates… why not… I need to review anyway…So…_ "Maybe."

The very annoyed Hiruma made a slight move towards his supposedly hidden firearm before remembering his current location. _I ALREADY ASKED!!! What more could you want?!? This girl… if she doesn't help me… ARGHH!!! She'd better… Okay. On with the plan._ "No MAYBE's, girl! It's YES or NO! YES, and you get a job. NO, and you'll find out what 'OR ELSE' means." Then he flipped out his "secret" black book containing his blackmailing information. "OOOH… Your mom died last year and was buried in a certain Osaka cemetery…" He proceeded to rattle of the exact address. "So. Answer NO and your precious mom's gonna turn in her grave. Literally. There's no telling what I'll get my 'goons' to do to the place…"

Alarmed, Kamiya hurriedly answered… "Okay, okay! I'll be your tutor!"

"Smart idea," Hiruma sneered. "All right, _Sensei_. We start today, in the American football club's office, at 3:30 pm sharp. Until 5. And we *might* be outdoors. And since you're being _so agreeable_, and I'm in such a _good_ mood, I'll even pay you 500 yen for every afternoon of tutoring." _Of course, I won't be paying. I'll make sure some random kid will give me his lunch money…. Kekekekeke..._ "Oh yeah. Here's a map of where our office is."

Hiruma pumped his fist into the air, turning to leave the corner. He headed outside to practice football with the other club members. "After school at 3:30 p.m.! Come over to our club office! DON'T FORGET!" Then he continued down the hallways, ruthlessly kicking any and all out of his way.

Kamiya mentally sweatdropped before returning to her desk. _Well. That was interesting…. ehh. Whatever, back to work._ A quick check on the clock revealed that there were still 20 minutes left of lunch break, so she pulled out her pre-calculus textbook—as well as an onigiri bento—and proceeded to finish the day's math homework in record time.

~**off**~

Fifteen minutes later, Kamiya's best friend Anezaki Mamori approached her desk. Immediately Kamiya's face brightened as the two girls engulfed each other in a bear hug.

"Mayuri-chan! Mamori-chan!" the girls cried. Then they settled down in neighboring desks, Kamiya in her own desk and Anezaki facing her from the seat in front.

"Missed you over the weekend, Mayuri… but I had babysitting jobs and relatives visiting at home… so how are you?"

"Me too… missed you, I mean. I had to work on a school project for our Japanese history class this weekend..." Kamiya frowned. "I wish we were in the same classes this year… last year we shared all our classes, but this year we're never really in the same class period at the same time. Oh~ and I'm okay. Just tired. And busy. And somewhat confused."

Anezaki asked, "Why?"

"Hiruma-kun demanded that I tutor him. He was like, 'Of course I'd ask you, considering your grades!', saying (not very politely) that he needed academic help because he'd SUPPOSEDLY been having trouble but needed a better grade in order to stay in sports. And he kind of threatened to wreck my mom's grave and/or the cemetery where she's buried... he could have just threatened me, not my mom! Now I can't refuse! Speaking of him, aren't you the American Football Club's manager? Do you have any advice? I'm *supposed* to start today after school."

"Ehhh. If I were to tell you a few months ago, I would tell you to say NO despite the threat and avoid Hiruma at all costs. But now… I think you should. Sena is in that club after all, and I wouldn't want to cause him or his friends disappointment. But I'd highly suggest being careful when tutoring Hiruma… he can become a *bit* verbally abusive… as in call you and other people names and stuff. So if you want, maybe you could just do the tutoring in our club office, when I'm there… which is pretty often… And anyway, your dad works late, right? That way you won't be bored and lonely… or something…" Anezaki proposed. Then her demeanor changed. "It's a bit weird though. He could have just asked ME. I'm in his club already! What's wrong with the second-smartest (second-year) girl in school?!? Or rather, he could have asked Yukimitsu, who's pretty much the smartest second year around, since he always goes to cram school and all. Not to mention, Hiruma shouldn't need tutoring—he's pretty smart, although he often uses his brains for manipulating people or making football strategies. Mayuri ~ what kind of leadership skills in a team captain is THAT?!?"

"Ahhh... Thanks for the advice! And then, at least I'll have a job… I think… " Kamiya brightened. "Ano… I think the bell is about to ring. But you'll be there this afternoon, won't you, Mamori-chan?"

"Ne, Mayuri-chan!" Anezaki grinned, rising to leave just as the 3 minute bell rang… as predicted. "Good luck on today's history presentation!"

"Arigatou, Mamori! See you later!" Kamiya cheered, waving to Anezaki, who was heading to the adjacent classroom. Then Kamiya prepared to present her history project. Around her, the school buzzed with the chatter of rushing teenagers going to their lockers and their fifth period classes.

~**on**~

After school, Kamiya headed immediately to her locker, quickly grabbing her other textbooks. Then she headed towards the place marked on Hiruma's map. What she saw as she neared the American football club's office caught her breath.

A huge sign advertising DEIMON DEVIL BATS adorned the front and top of the building. Along the outside walls were plastered more of the American football club's posters featuring the mysterious Devil Bats ace, Eyeshield 21—posters she'd often seen around the school.

"Mayuri-chan~! You're here!" cried Anezaki, who had, from the shadows, been sweeping the ground around the building. Anezaki whispered, "Careful. Mr. CRAZY FOOTBALL GEEK is in a bad mood this afternoon. He's waiting inside—waiting VERY impatiently."

"Ahh… thanks, Mamori-chan…" Kamiya proceeded to enter the office.

Inside was a lively wonderland. A first year, Raimon Tarou, was leaping around the room—eating bananas… another first year, Komusubi Daikichi, seemed to be happily and adoringly (if possible) eating snacks with the second year Kurita Ryoukan. In the background, Hiruma was vigorously chasing three boys—Juumonji, Kuroki, and Toganou—around the room, firearms blazing, all the while shouting phrases like "Hey you! Huh-huh Bros! Get to work! No slacking off in running practice! (**A/N**: lol. Aren't they running already? :P) You gotta train HARD to be decent linemen! Kekekeke..." amid their protesting. Yukimitsu Manabu cringed on the sidelines, holding a cram school textbook up as if to shield him from the fray.

_Wow. Impressive._

Outside, Anezaki scolded, "Senaaaa! You're late! You're supposed to be RESPONSIBLE as the team secretary! Hurry up!"

Then, both Anezaki as well as the first year Kobayakawa Sena entered the building.

Immediately, Hiruma turned on Kobayakawa as well. "SHRIMP! You're late! 100 extra pushups in today's workout!" He proceeded to chase and 'fire' on the unfortunate first year in addition to the previous three.

Suddenly, Anezaki cried, "Shame on you, Hiruma-kun! You tell me to clean up the place, and then now you've snapped the broom! HEY! Pay attention! Stop goofing and be serious for once!"

_Here is Mamori-chan's motherly side in action again… even in the football club… *sweatdrops*… ehh. I don't really think it's a safe time to announce myself or anything…*double sweatdrops*…_

The room grew silent, other than Hiruma's retorts towards Anezaki's outburst. Finally, those in the room—other than Anezaki, who already knew—realized Kamiya's presence. After a few surprised seconds, Kurita broke the silence, bursting into tears.

"Kamiya-saaan! How kind of you! Look everyone! We have a new recruit~! Let's celebrate!" cheered Kurita.

"F-Fugo!" echoed Komusubi.

"Oh good. It's about time you're here. C'mere, girl." Still carrying his firearms, Hiruma grabbed Kamiya by the arm and half-dragged her as he marched out to the field. "Everyone else, get changed, and OUT TO THE FIELD! Time for afternoon practice! The last person out gets a taste of lead!" Then he cackled evilly...

_Ehhh…_ thought the shocked Kamiya.

"EEEP!" cried Kobayakawa, Raimon, and the three "Huh-huh Bros" as they rushed to the adjacent locker room to get ready for practice. Kurita and Komusubi, already changed and refreshed by their snack, joined Hiruma and Kamiya; then they tried to start a conversation as they walked, inquiring as to why Kamiya was with them during their practice…

"Sena! Where are you going? Isn't part of the team secretary's job to help monitor them from the side too?" asked Anezaki.

"Ahhh… I'm going to run errands today… I'm going to buy batteries and other supplies… but first I have to check the condition of the locker room…" Kobayakawa hurriedly replied. Then he continued nervously backing away, until he disappeared out of sight behind the club office.

"Okay…" Anezaki thought, _Oh well. Sena seems to be doing errands an awful lot since he joined this club… what a faithful team secretary…_ as she quickly joined Hiruma and the others.

Then the trio (as well as Yukimitsu) ran out to the fields, chased by a fierce-looking dog with a spiked collar and an 'unearthed' chain leash.

"SHRIMP! MONKEY! YOU'RE LAAAATE!" BAM! went Hiruma's warning shot, since everyone else had already reached the field by then...

* * *

**Author's note**: Chapter break! How was it? REVIEW PLEASE!!! Thanks!!!

lol. about the GPA part in the beginning... I have no idea how the Japanese school/sports/grading system is like... sorry! so it's kind of like a substitute... I guess.. :P

And…yeah... :P... since Hiruma turned out way too OOC in this chapter the way it was first written... I rewrote it... (Thank you **Mayuzu** and **Shadow Demon-Gengar** for your reviews!) But Hiruma will still be somewhat OOC; for example, I'm removing nearly all, if not all, of his cuss words (etc.). Meanwhile....**must finish reading more of the manga (was still in the first 50 chapters of the manga while writing this chapter the first time :P)** (:

Update 12/26/08: REWRITTEN!

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Translations~

_Arigatou (arigatou gozaimasu)_: thank you

_Bento_: lunch box (usually refers to a packed lunch)

_Onigiri_: rice ball(s)


	2. Chapter 2: The First Afternoon

**Author's note**: lol. Chapter 2! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri (and her family).

Another disclaimer... OOCness!

* * *

**In Her Own Little World  
**

Chapter 2: The First Afternoon of Tutoring (sort of)

~**off**~

A minute later, the last two rushed onto the practice field.

"Oh! Monta-kun and Eyeshield-kun are here!" exclaimed a relieved Anezaki.

"'Monta-kun'? Who's he?... Ahh… the other one must be the guy from the posters around the school…" Kamiya guessed.

Meanwhile… a scream (though not girlish) came from a particular latecoming shrimp, a result of a gunshot from Hiruma...

"'Monta' comes from the middle characters/syllables from Raimon Tarou's name... more like a nickname…" Anezaki answered.

THWACK. THWACK. "Stop the chatter, you two! You, manager! Get to your post! Tell all of them to practice with the ladder, and make them do passing exercises afterwards. They also need to work on defence and a LOT on offence! And Kamiya, you're here as a 'teacher' today, not a spectator," ordered Hiruma. "So. Today you're tutoring… English. (**A/N**: hm. Wonder what this is for... perhaps some choice phrases to scare a certain English-speaking opponent team…:P)…"

~**on**~

On her way home from school, Kamiya closed her eyes, enjoying the cool afternoon breeze. _Oh yeah…great. Now I'm also busy after school. Today's tutoring went pretty well though… better than expected. I got to finish my English homework there too! It seemed as if Hiruma didn't need my help with the homework, though… All he did was ask for translations for phrases like "We'll kill them!" and stuff. And my legs and ears are tired now, with all the Hiruma's shouted orders from where we were standing on the sidelines… T_T…what a strict team captain. Wish he'd let Mamori and me talk more… :((( oh well… I barely got to say "Mata ashita" to her like we usually do… BUT! _The first day of tutoring was over, and since Kamiya had therefore left the school later than usual, there was no after-school rush of trafficking high schoolers.

Plus, her fifth period history presentation had gone well, so she was happy, since Japanese history was her favorite subject. Her other classes were pretty fun too, though. In zero period, she learned Japanese (writing skills). First period chemistry was her second-favorite class, being science – especially since Kamiya's goal was to become a doctor... then maybe she could help protect other people from getting sick and dying like her mom, who had passed away the previous year as a result of lung cancer. She was learning English in second period, and she enjoyed the brushes with American and European culture that she experienced through that class. Third period was almost as fun – art – but she would rather draw her own styles than study other artists' drawing methods. In fourth period, she took pre-calculus; it was a difficult class, but she could handle it. Sixth period was PE, the only class she shared with Anezaki this year – but that only made sixth period more fun; and since she loved running and was more or less athletic, PE wasn't too hard…

BAM!

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" shouted an enraged Hiruma.

Kamiya snapped out of her reverie. _Apparently, I must have run into Hiruma… who had just been… standing – or loitering – right in front of my family's driveway…?_ "Why are you here?!?" _O_O._ "I don't tutor you again until tomorrow! AND IT'S NOT TOMORROW YET!!!"

Hiruma burst out laughing.

"What's so funny? You know, you're trespassing…! In front of MY house…!"

"OBVIOUSLY! I would KNOW it's not tomorrow yet!" gasped the still-grinning Hiruma.

"And…? Explain, please." Kamiya insisted.

**

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Author's note**: Chapter break! How was it? REVIEW PLEASE!!! THANKS!!!

This was a [really] short chapter… T_T. Oh well.


	3. Chapter 3: Next Door

**Author's note**: lol. Third chapter! Yaaay! :P okay don't forget… in the story, _italics_ are for thoughts/feelings. (mostly..^^). And…

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri and her family.

Disclaimer 2: probably some OOCness… oh well. :P

* * *

**In Her Own Little World  
**

Chapter 3: Next Door...

~**on**~

"And…? Explain, please." Kamiya insisted.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Hiruma shook violently with laughter. "Aha…haHA! Never thought… the second smartest second year in school could be such a BAKA! 'It's not tomorrow yet', indeed! Hilarious…"

POP! Kamiya's veins were having a party at the moment, until… a loud SLAP! could be heard as her heavy schoolbag landed full-on into Hiruma, doubling him over. (**A/N**: lol. Guess the two reasons why he doubled over! :P)

"Hey! What's wrong with you, girl?!?" Hiruma, apparently, had gotten over his amusement.

"You still haven't explained why YOU are here in front of MY house," Kamiya shot back. _Baka yourself! You're the one who supposedly needs the tutoring! You little stalker…_

"Oohhhh. That." Hiruma stalled. "I was walking HOME when I saw my tutor walking the same way. Since SOMEONE wasn't paying attention, I was able to get in front of that SOMEONE without being seen. So I walked ahead. It wasn't hard… I found your house because I saw SOMEONE turn into this driveway, still not paying attention."

"Really."

"YEAH, really! I live right next door to you! See, I'll show you!" Rummaging for a key among numerous firearms in his schoolbag, Hiruma heatedly strided towards the adjacent house and proceeded to open the front door. "There! I've lived here all along! Just that SOMEONE never paid enough attention to notice!"

Crossing her arms across her chest, Kamiya replied, "Enough with the 'SOMEONE' stuff, Hiruma…-kun. I got the idea already. But it's obvious why I never noticed… 'cause someone ELSE has American football club meetings (practices, whatever..) every afternoon while this 'someone' goes home." _Not to mention, I thought no one lived there… that house is normally really, really quiet… not that I paid too much attention, since I currently have no habit of listening to neighbors across walls. And what about his parents?!? There's no car in the driveway either… does anyone else even _live_ here? I can't wait to tell Mamori-chan about this… maybe she might have found out something. Hm. But then she would have told me… right?_

_Ehh? She's not mad. Most people would have been furious or just plain scared long ago. Or both. T_T. Okaaaay…_ "Tomorrow. Don't. Be. Late. And you aren't allowed to talk to the others or to a certain effin manager during tutoring hours, unless it's extremely necessary or unless you're addressed first. Tomorrow is gonna be on the practice field again. Be prepared. Practice, AS WELL AS TUTORING, might run late, because I'm planning to the shrimps extra hard tomorrow… They'll think they're experiencing hell." The corners of Hiruma's mouth turned up in an 'evil' anticipatory grin.

_A bit sadistic, is he? Or maybe just a really SERIOUS football team captain. _Kamiya put on a stern teacher-like voice, "Watch your language, young man. _Especially_ about my best friend." Then she returned to her normal voice with a smile, as she was by now quite amused. "Got it. Just don't blow or my house apart or anything. But you'd BETTER be a good student." _Oh wait. *inwardly pouts* I have to stay late tomorrow… No wonder some afternoons Mamori-chan doesn't answer her cell phone…_

_Best friends, huh. _"Ne, Kamiya-_SENSEI_! Or now that SOMEONE knows who her neighbor is, how about _Mayuri-chan_?" Hiruma's diabolical grin only grew wider.

"No way." Getting her own keys out, Kamiya unlocked the front door of her house. _Dad is still going to be at work till late today… maybe I'll prepare dinner and surprise him. Although Dad doesn't get surprised very much...  
_

"Mata ashita, _Mayuri-chan_!" teased Hiruma, as both of them entered their own homes.

~**off**~

Since it was already 5:30 in the afternoon—the result of tutoring, the mile-and-a-half-long walk home from school, as well as the 'discussion' with Hiruma—Kamiya settled down in her second-floor bedroom to do half an hour of homework before preparing dinner. On the way, she was careful not to bump with her bulging schoolbag any of the colorful woven cloths or framed paintings that hung along the stairway and hallways in her house. Once in her room, painted a calming pattern of pastel shades of blue and green, she flicked on the overhead light panel and unceremoniously dumped her bag on the floor next to her desk. During the next half hour of serious study, Kamiya finished over half her homework, much of it having been finished during the 'tutoring session'.

Afterwards (and after stopping at the bathroom, emerging with sparkling clean hands) she headed downstairs, deciding what to get ready for dinner. By the time she reached the refrigerator in the kitchen, she had decided to cook takoyaki and fox udon noodles. Amid the chopping, boiling, and washing, Kamiya—as ever the meticulous, though not nerdy, 16-year-old girl—mentally went over the day's events as well as what she knew of her schedule for the rest of the week…

"Hellooooo Mayuri-chan! Earth to my favorite imouto! Please pick up the phone! It's me, Mako-oniichan!... Okay fine, don't pick up the phone. Anyways, just dropping a call from college~ say hi to Dad for me! Bye!" a faint message sounded from the home phone… a call from Kamiya's brother Makoto, which the still spaced-out Kamiya Mayuri did not hear... at all.

After a quick dinner, Kamiya set aside her dad's dinner before cleaning up and returning to her room to finish her homework. Then she studied for the week's tests and quizzes before turning on her computer and mp3 player, staying spaced out and thoroughly engrossed until her dad came home… and until she fell asleep.

~**on**~

On the other hand, the first thing football otaku Hiruma did once he got home… was to plan some football strategies for the Deimon Devil Bats. In addition, he planned out hellish training for the team as well as dramatic remodeling for their office.

Later, Hiruma warmed up a TV dinner in the microwave. While watching on television the coverage of the most recent Oujou White Knights' football game—with the usual Sakuraba commercials—he downed his Western-style meal of chicken, beef, bread, and "broiled" vegetables, though he left the carrots untouched. _Living alone has its 'perks'…no nagging parents… unlike during club hours with 'Mamo-kaasan'…  
_

Afterwards, he pulled out his laptop and checked his information network for updates. He also researched "Kamiya Mayuri" in his trusty network to find her contact information (**A/N**: lol… stalker! :P). He sent her cell phone a text message—"Yo. _Sensei_. DON'T FORGET… After school, TOMORROW, again at 3:30 in my club office! Better come or I'll track you down!" _What shall I get 'tutored' on next?… Ha. Not much needed in the way of tutoring… only in one class did my grade recently drop from an A+ to an A… No one would guess! Kekekekeke…_

_

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_**Author's note**: LOL. How was it? Not even a minor cliffhanger this time though. (Or maybe… there is! :P) But… review please! ^^

… I was reading the ES21 manga (up to ch. 105+ now!) and was hoping for more info on Hiruma and Mamori… and it was sooo funny (okay, maybe not really) that repetitively, CERTAIN CHARACTERS' given info was "shot" or somehow else blotted out… :P 'cept that means less info for me to work with… ):

Thank you **Ayla the Librarian** for your review (and the info on Hiruma's dad)!

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Translations~

_Sensei_: teacher/etc. [[someone with in a (respectable) profession]]

_Baka_: dummy, idiot, etc.

_Onii-chan_: older brother

_Imouto_: little sister (for a guy)


	4. Chapter 4: Until the Second Start

**Author's note:** 1/5/09: Happy really late new years! ~ Fourth chapter! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri and her family.

Disclaimer 2: probably some OOCness…:P

* * *

**In Her Own Little World  
**

Chapter 4: Until the Second Start of the "Terror"

~**off**~

The next morning at 5:45, Kamiya woke up to the chimes of her cell phone's alarm.

"Uuugghhhh…" she groaned as she got out of bed. As she moved to turn off the alarm on her cell phone, she noticed she'd gotten a new text message from a sender she didn't recognize, but she opened it anyway.

The message read, "Yo. _Sensei_. DON'T FORGET… After school, TOMORROW, again at 3:30 in my club office! Better come or I'll track you down!"

"Hmm… must be from Hiruma…" Kamiya yawned. "Wait… 'Tomorrow'? Ohh… this came yesterday. That's weird, I didn't hear it… guess I seriously do need to pay more attention…"

After washing up, she headed downstairs and found her dad drinking coffee and poring over the morning newspaper.

"Good morning otou-san!"

"Hm. Morning, Mayuri-chan. Go eat breakfast, quickly," her dad replied.

"Okay…" Kamiya went into the kitchen to toast bread for breakfast. Meanwhile, she readied her bento, packing rice and leftover takoyaki for lunch…

"Guess what otou-san! I got a job! I'm an official tutor now… sort of."

"Good for you." Then her dad absentmindedly flipped to the next page of his newspaper…

After cleaning up after breakfast, Kamiya hurriedly returned upstairs to change into her school uniform and to pack her schoolbag. As she packed her cell phone, she was reminded to check the telephone in the house as well, in case there were new voice messages.

She went back downstairs and saw her dad unlocking the front door, the bag for his laptop over his shoulder. "You're leaving for work already, otou-san?"

"Yes. I'll probably be back earlier today, maybe by 7." He left.

Kamiya thought—out loud, though softly—to herself, "I seem to have forgotten something important…" (**A/N**: lol. A certain sensei in ES21 said that a few times when he lost/won in certain bets…:P) Then she remembered, and went over to check the telephone for new messages.

"You have ONE new voice message," a monotonic voice announced from the system.

" 'Hellooooo Mayuri-chan! Earth to my favorite imouto! Please pick up the phone! It's me, Mako-oniichan!... Okay fine, don't pick up the phone. Anyways, just dropping a call from college~ say hi to Dad for me! Bye!' " Her older brother's voice emerged, tinny, from the phone.

BLINK. Kamiya glanced at the clock. "Ahhh, gotta hurry! _Already_ six-thirty?" she panicked, rushing out of the house.

~**on**~

Walking quickly—the artificial wind created by her hurried movements sending her long, sun-bleached dark brown hair in rhythm to the rushed ruffling of her skirt—Kamiya managed to travel the mile-and-a-half-long walk to school in record time. _I was almost late… maybe next time I should wake up a bit earlier… or just do things faster in the mornings… Ahh, I'm so SLOW! _The five minute bell rang, warning the crowd of teenagers to get to class. She hurried to the locker she shared with Anezaki and met the other girl there.

"Ohayo!" they greeted each other.

They opened the locker and put extra books inside. "Sorry, Mamori-chan! I really have to go… Japanese class is pretty far away!" Kamiya said as she turned away.

"Okay, see you in PE class!" Anezaki replied.

~**off**~

After school, Kamiya went over to the Amefuto club office. Hopefully, she wasn't too late—she'd had to stop by her chemistry teacher's room to drop off some papers, and the result should only be a five-minute-or-so delay. She halted outside the door, mentally readying herself for another afternoon at her new "job". From outside the door, she could already hear the argument storming inside the building between her friend and her "student".

Several first years clamored past her as she opened the door.

"HIIEEEE!!!" cried Kobayakawa as he sped away.

"MUKYAA!!! Scary MAX!" Monta gasped, he too making his escape.

"Ehh…" and she entered the building.

~**on**~

A moment earlier, inside the clubroom…

Anezaki was wielding a broom and looming near a seated Hiruma, who reclined in a chair, feet propped atop the table. Hiruma bluntly popped a bubble of sugarless gum as he rapidly typed on his laptop.

"You can't do this, Hiruma-kun!" Anezaki continued.

"Kekekekeke. Of course I can, manager! It's just a 'Devil Bats' advertisement video'. This is the best chance we'll have in a while to get a match with an American team, after all!" POP.

"Hey! Stop calling me that!" Anezaki fumed. "But you can't just... you're… I knew it was strange for you to ask me to take shots of a chicken and some monkeys at the zoo during today's morning practice… You're directly provoking them, sending such a humiliating video of the Nasa Aliens' trainer Apollo-san streaming throughout the world on the Internet!" _Although I have to admit… the video IS a little bit… funny… AHH! What am I thinking?!?_

"Kekekekeke… it's too late now! I already did, fifteen minutes ago. And I already talked with the little chicken in our 'movie'." Hiruma turned to those of the team who had arrived early—two linemen and two 'shrimps'. Then he continued, bringing a machinegun out of nowhere and began to fire it around the building. "Hey, listen up, little brats! According to the chicken himself, if the Aliens don't win by an overwhelming difference of ten points, they'll never return to America. But if we don't win by an overwhelming victory of ten points difference… all of us shall instantly leave Japan the very same day!"

"EEEP!" was the response.

As Hiruma continued to shoot off ever more firearms in his maniacal manner, two of the first years couldn't take the clamor anymore, and made a rush for the door…

~**off**~

"I still think you shouldn't have posted… THAT… on the internet. Not that you'd ever listen to me, anyway," huffed the exasperated Anezaki.

"Che. Now the shrimps have escaped, and the trio plus the tutor are late," Hiruma growled. "What have we here… ne, _Mayuri-chan_? Kekekekekeke!"

Kamiya cautiously eased into the building. "Ano… um… I brought the textbooks…" she replied.

Anezaki gasped. "Hiruma-kun! Isn't it a bit too soon to start calling her that? And as the discipline committee officer, I'm warning you... I can't let it pass if you ever try anything underhanded. To anyone, including the rest of the team."

"Kekekekekeke!"

"Ahh, whatever. Knowing you, the *terrible* leader of the Devil Bats… It's a wonder the team even got this far. And by _this far_… it's not much yet." Anezaki regained her composure, attaining a slightly stern manner.

"Yet."

And with that, the second afternoon of Hiruma's tutoring commenced.

* * *

**Author's note**: How was it?!? *jumps up and down with excitement*

Another disclaimer: some of this chapter, the parts with the 'movie' to the Aliens, and their following proclamations, came from the manga itself, not me!

… IT'S OFFICIAL! I'm 'officially' changing the rating for this fic into general/friendship/romance/humor! And I'm probably going to follow the timeline of the ES21 manga, mostly…

Wow. Now I've successfully, officially, completed the reading of all 312 chapters of the Eyeshield 21 manga currently in circulation. Kyaaa~ the story gets really good, especially in *certain* parts! And don't you just love the SuzuSena and HiruMamo in it? Totally can't wait for the next chapter! Too bad that—since the most recent issue of Jump was a double issue—next week may not have another chapter of ES21. ):

YA-HAAAA!!! ~ reviewreviewreview! *picks up two of Hiruma's guns*  
In the background: POP. "…Che. Hey! Who're you and what are you doing with my AK-47 and MM-34?"  
Kekekekeke… REVIEW please!

* * *

Translations~

_Ohayo (ohayo gozaimasu)_: hello, good morning, etc.

_Otou-san_: dad/father

_Onii-chan_: older brother

_Imouto_: little sister (for a guy)


	5. Chapter 5: Chemistry

**Author's note:** 1/7/09: Fifth chapter! Yaaay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri and her family.

Disclaimer 2: probably some OOCness…:P

Disclaimer 3: SPOILER ALERT!

* * *

**In Her Own Little World**

Chapter 5: Chemistry

~**on**~

"Kekekekekeke. You guys better practice with all you've got! You can't just defeat, but KILL the American team, if you want to stay in Japan! We only have a month before the match against the Aliens, on July 20th," cackled Hiruma, as the group headed towards the practice field.

"Ha?" Toganou started.

Next spoke Juumonji with a "HAA?"

"HAAAAAAAAA?!?" finished Kuroki.

"Che. Ask the others if you want. YOU GUYS were the ones who were late." POP. Hiruma prodded the trio—with one of his many firearms—to "Hurry!" towards the field. At the same time, Anezaki and Kamiya trailed behind, whispering excitedly with each other. Then he continued, "Where are those pipsqueaks?!? Are they planning to skip practice?" Hiruma's face took on a menacing look as he toyed with his gun.

"HIEEEEEE!!! MUKYAAAA!!!" The 'pipsqueaks' Kobayakawa and Monta returned, racing to beat the others to the field.

Meanwhile, Kamiya asked Anezaki, "How come Sena-kun is practicing today? I mean, he wasn't here yesterday…"

Her friend replied, "Ahh. Sometimes Sena practices with the others, but many times he goes on errands instead."

"Maybe he should try out for the team, though… since even way before high school, he could already run really fast. And then you'd rescue him from bullies anyway…" Both giggled softly.

By now they had reached the practice field. Hiruma gave Anezaki the instructions for the 'hellish training' he'd promised the day before. Then the two stood on the sidelines with Kamiya, monitoring the team as they practiced.

During this second tutoring session, Kamiya helped Hiruma with chemistry as he switched back and forth from the sidelines and the field. While he participated in the team's training with true Hiruma style, the two girls would take advantage of the time to converse with each other, quickly composing themselves each time the occupied, demonic captain looked their way. When he returned to the sidelines, Anezaki would resume monitoring the others; next to her, Kamiya would continue the chemistry tutoring.

On one of the breaks in between 'tutoring', Kamiya asked her friend, "Mamori-chan, did you know where Hiruma-kun lives?"

Anezaki thought for a moment. Then she replied, "I think he lived in a hotel penthouse that he blackmailed, so he was able to live there for free. Except that the hotel is undergoing some major renovation. I'm not sure where he lives right now."

"Ohh. Because yesterday I found out that he lives next door to me."

"Nani…?!? What happened?" shock was displayed clearly on Anezaki's face. _I… I can't believe it! Of all places for him to live, it's next to my best friend! Oh no! Now I really wish we didn't live in opposite directions from school…_

"Ano… I bumped into him. Literally." Kamiya answered. "And then I demanded to know how and why he'd be there in front of my house. He just said that he'd lived there all along."

Suddenly, an ominous shadow loomed over the two. "Kekekekeke… who's _he_, huh? Break it up!" Then Hiruma forcefully pried the two girls away from each other, using his abnormally long fingers to his advantage. "Hey. _Sensei_, if you and the 'manager' are gonna talk, I'm not paying you. Neither are you earning anything from the days you're late."

_Uh-oh. I'd better stop things before the situation starts getting bad…_ Anezaki interjected, "Hiruma-kun, I told you to stop calling me that! Now sit down and be a good student!"

He stared at her blankly. "Hello? We're on the sidelines, and the nearest benches are 15 meters away?" Then he turned to picked up his chemistry homework and reverted his stare to Kamiya, as Anezaki popped several veins and rolled her eyes at his back. "Okay, tell me. Last question… How do I write the quantum numbers for the valence electrons of astatine (**A/N**: (: lol. I love chemistry… and just in case, astatine is symbol At, atomic number 85 on the periodic table of the elements.)?"

"First you write the electron configuration. Since the full electron configuration for astatine is pretty long… let's take the shortcut. You probably know all about it anyway," Kamiya added. To demonstrate, she worked out the problem on her own homework, occasionally glancing at the periodic table on the sleeve of her binder (**A/N**: ahh… this must be a trait nearing the qualifications of 'nerd'…at least she has the common sense to put her periodic table where she can see it! I don't… *sweatdrops* so I have to fish for mine, and then take it out of my binder every time I use it…:P). "So the electron configuration is [Xe] 6s^2 4p^14 5d^10 6p^5. You know which ones are the valence electrons, right?"

POP. "Of course I do. I'm not a baka. There are seven valence electrons, the ones represented in 6s^2 and in 6p^5. I just didn't get the last part." _This, at least, is true. _Hiruma pulled out another of his firearms, seemingly out of nowhere, and began toying with it.

_Hey! Tutoring isn't that hard after all! Not many problems, and I've made it to the second day! Yay~… but where does he stash all that bubble gum? And how does he mysteriously fit all those guns in one schoolbag? How odd…_ "Okay. Then we'll move on. Now you have to draw the diagrams for the orbitals." Kamiya proceeded to draw small 'diagrams' on her paper.

First she drew a set of parentheses, leaving a little space in between. She wrote "6s" underneath the parentheses. Then, next to the first set of parentheses, but half an inch over, she drew three more sets of parentheses, although these three touched at the curve of the parentheses. This she labeled "6p". Then she filled out in the single parentheses an arrow going up, and an arrow going down. In the first of three parentheses, she drew one arrow going up and one going down, and repeated the process for the second of the three. For the last of the group of three parentheses labeled "6p", she drew a single arrow going up.

"The arrows represent electrons, and the orbitals—the parentheses—are 'shells' of electrons surrounding the nucleus of an astatine atom. Now I'm going to write out the quantum numbers out and explain which one stands for what," Kamiya continued. On her paper, she wrote…

(6, 0, 0, +½)  
(6, 0, 0, -½)

(6, 1, -1, +½)  
(6, 1, -1, -½)  
(6, 1, 0, +½)  
(6, 1, 0, -½)  
(6, 1, 1, +½)

"The first two parentheses on the top are the quantum numbers for the electrons—the arrows inside the parentheses—in the '6s' orbital, and the last five are for the ones in the '6p' orbital, as drawn in the orbital diagrams. The first number is the energy level. In this case, it's 6. The second number in any one of these parentheses stands for which block of the periodic table it represents—s block, you get a 0, p block gives you a 1, d block a 2, and f block a 3. The third number… well, remember the orbital diagrams? In each set, electrons in the center parentheses give you a 0, and the ones to the left are -1, -2, and so on, while the electrons, or arrows, in the parentheses to the right of the center give you 1, 2, etc. The last quantum number represents spin, as in the direction the electrons travel inside the electron shell, and the only options are +½ or -½, so this one is easier." Kamiya concluded her explanation. "Ano… do you remember how to do this now, Hiruma-kun? Why don't you try it on your own paper?" She had been in a sort of trance as she explained the chemistry question, and now she blinked out of it to find the entire football team gathered nearby.

CLAP. CLAP. _All of a sudden… the team is starting to clap? O_O_

Hiruma, abnormally without question, started working out his chemistry homework.

"Uwaaa, Kamiya-san, you're good! I think those chemistry problems are hard!" Kurita gasped. However, the first years on the team just stood agape, perhaps wondering how the second years could even understand the seemingly otaku-like language of chemistry...

"Ahh… thank you… but I think Mamori-chan and Yukimitsu-kun are better… Hiruma-kun is good at it too! Really!" _Although it's sometimes hard to tell with Hiruma-kun… his scores are always 100s while the highest Mamori-chan, Yukimitsu-kun, and I get are 5's… but I think the highest you can get on your report card IS a 5… *suspicious antenna pops up in brain*_…

"Hey. Back to work, people!" Surprisingly, Hiruma had finished the one chemistry problem remaining rather quickly. Now he had gotten a demonic gleam to his eyes and had started shooting off his firearms again.

~**off**~

Sometime afterwards, the Amefuto team's afternoon practice came to an end. Everyone else except Anezaki and Hiruma went home, while these two stayed behind in the club 'office'.

Anezaki put on her apron and picked up a cloth to wipe the place sparkling clean. She quickly scrubbed the surfaces of the tables, chairs, walls, cabinets, and paraphernalia. Then, armed with her trusty broom, she began fiercely sweeping the floor (again) of any dirt that may have landed on the office floor since earlier in the afternoon.

On the other hand, Hiruma reclined on a chair, leaning both legs atop the width of the reversible-top table. He nonchalantly chewed his this-time-blue-colored sugarless gum, occasionally disturbing the quiet atmosphere with the POP of a bubble.

After a while, Hiruma whisked out his laptop and was soon typing contentedly away, chuckling to himself every few minutes. After Anezaki finished scourging the interior of the building until it was spotless, she crossed the room towards the table where Hiruma sat. She leaned over his shoulder, watching his 'negotiations' with who-knows-who—people she'd rather not find out about—and his researching of information concerning the eventually-upcoming fall Amefuto tournament.

Soon, Hiruma began to get irritated. "Hey, manager, get off my shoulder."

Anezaki quietly stepped back. "Hiruma-kun… demo… why did you move…_there_… of all places?"

"Che. Are you being nosy, manager?" Hiruma suddenly cackled, whipping out his Devil's Handbook in a flash; then he started jotting down *suspicious* notes… "Kekekekeke… 'Anezaki Mamori… One, has an extreme fetish for cream puffs, especially from that Kariya place—a fetish bordering on otaku-ness, if it isn't already. Two, is overprotective of the shrimp. Three, is nosy.' Not a very good record for a discipline committee officer!"

"Stop that, Hiruma-kun!" Anezaki tried, unsuccessfully, to grab the black book from his hands. "And you didn't answer my question!"

Hiruma slipped the book into a pocket and turned back to his computer. "You know that the hotel is undergoing massive renovation… it had been progressing to a point of great disrepair, anyway. So I had to move, and there was a house that was 'available'. It just happened to be right next to the house of your _best friend_. Did you finish analyzing the data on the American team yet, manager?"

"…Oh. And yes." Anezaki took off her apron and put it away. She went over to her schoolbag and retrieved the results of her analysis, handing them to Hiruma. "Here it is...I'm leaving now, Hiruma-kun. Be responsible, okay? And… take care of yourself." Then she turned away and left.

"Hn." Hiruma grunted. POP. He packed up his laptop. POP. Then picked up his gear, firearms and all, before locking the door to the office. Soon, he was walking home to a receding sunset, hands in his pockets as he continued chewing (and popping bubbles of) his seemingly endless supply of gum.

* * *

**Author's note**: How was it?!? *jumps up and down with excitement again*

lol. I think the last part was supposed to be my attempt at HiruMamo... sort of. ;D

YA-HAAAA!!! ~ reviewreviewreview! *picks up two of Hiruma's guns*(… this concludes a firm conviction that a similar scenario from the past is now being repeated...)  
In the background: POP. "…Che. Hey! Who're you and what are you doing with my AK-47 and MM-34?"  
Kekekekeke… REVIEW please!

* * *

Translations~

_Nani_: what?

_Sensei_: teacher


	6. Chapter 6: Surprise!

**Author's note:** 1/11/09: Sixth chapter! Yaaay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri and her family.

Disclaimer 2: probably some OOCness…:P

Disclaimer 3: SPOILER ALERT!

* * *

**In Her Own Little World**

Chapter 6: Surprise!

~**on**~

As usual, Kamiya walked home from school that Tuesday. _Already I'm becoming used to this 'tutoring-the-devil-himself' business,_ she mused. She realized why nearly everyone outside the football team was generally scared out of their wits by Hiruma…_But when he's serious, he seems a lot more normal. Maybe that's how Mamori-chan could last so long in that club…_*sweatdrops*…_ Although it could be just me being weird…_

When she had almost reached her house, with only a quarter of a mile remaining, a familiar silvery-blue Camry drove up to her and honked annoyingly. She turned to look, and saw that the culprit was her sometimes goofy 20-year-old brother Makoto. Obviously, he was quite enjoying the car he'd bought over a year ago when he entered Tokyo University, after saving money for it throughout high school.

"Yo, Mayuri-chan! Want a ride?" her brother grinned widely. He had not seen her or their father for almost a month, since he normally lived in his school's dormitory. _Wait a minute. Something feels 'off' here._

"Thank you!" she cried happily, getting into the passenger seat of her brother's mostly-clean car. "Why are you back from school in the middle of the week?"

"I have no classes until tomorrow afternoon. I already turned in some projects due later this week, since the teacher accepts assignments early, so now I'm free! By the way, I'm staying home tonight. That's why I was working the other weekends, imouto. See, I knew it was a good thing I studied so hard in high school—then I could go to a good school, _near_ our house, and still be able to come back easily to see you guys!" he winked. "I thought I'd surprise you and Dad by coming home today. You DID get my call yesterday, right?"

"Ano… onii-chan... I haven't told Dad yet. About your call, I mean. Because, you see, I forgot to check the phone for messages… and anyway, you only said to say hi to Dad, so the call wasn't too urgent…" Nervously, Kamiya stammered for an excuse.

"WHAT?!?" Makoto cried incredulously as he pulled into the driveway of the Kamiya household. "More like you just weren't paying attention, I'll bet," he muttered, half-jokingly.

"Probably." They got out of the car, and after she unlocked the front door, they continued inside.

"Hey. Mayuri, why were you walking home late today?" Makoto asked, having just remembered what had felt 'off' to him earlier. "It's already six-fifteen!"

"Oh… I got a tutoring job yesterday," she replied, scrambling upstairs to drop off her stuff in her room before returning downstairs. As she went to the kitchen and began getting dinner ready, she continued, "Remember my friend Mamori? Recently, she's been the manager for the American football club at school. And yesterday the team's captain asked me to be 'tutor' during their afternoon practices. Although if you ask me, he's plenty smart already… and since my help isn't really needed all that much, I'm probably going to quit sometime in the very near future."

_Vague answer…_ "That's good, I guess. Who, exactly, are you tutoring, then? Or rather, who _were_ you tutoring?" Makoto leaned his shoulder against the kitchen doorpost.

"Ehh… this second year named Hiruma Yoichi…"

Before she could continue, her extremely shocked brother exploded, angrily rising to his full height of 182 cm. "WHAT? You're helping _him_? Don't you know he's dangerous—always playing with guns and all? And he's got blackmail on most of the Tokyo residents alone, not to mention outside of Tokyo! He even has blackmail on _me_… no telling what he could do to you! And your friend is the manager of this… this _demon_'s team?!?"

"Ahh… well… Mamori became the Amefuto club's manager because Sena-kun—you know, the little boy she always took care of—joined the club. So it's not like she's gotten weird, or anything! Don't jump to conclus—Oww… h-hot..." Apparently, Kamiya had splashed her arm with boiling water, as she'd been dropping vegetables into a pot of hot water. "Onii-chan, see… you're not supposed to distract people who're cooking!" she cried as she hurriedly rinsed her arm in cold water.

"Gomen, gomen!" he gulped. "I guess I'll just… go to the guest room…"

~**off**~

KNOCK. KNOCK. "Konnichiwa, otou-san!" Makoto opened the door for their father.

"Ah. Makoto-kun. This is a surprise," Kamiya Hatsujo calmly greeted his son. (**A/N**: Sorry, this is kind of late! I forgot to introduce the Kamiya dad's full name earlier… gomen!) "A break at school, I presume. I hope my _mature_, young son has not gotten himself into trouble." He adjusted his glasses, pushing them higher up his nose as he looked up to fix a stern gaze at the 'mature' son in question.

"Y-yes... and no, I haven't gotten into trouble, really!"

"Dinner's ready, otou-san!" Kamiya announced. "And onii-chan will _kindly_ wash the dishes in compensation for not telling us that he was coming today. Right?"

"Whaaat?" he protested. On his face was a rather amusing expression of distress.

"Why, is anything wrong, _onii-chan_?" she asked innocently.

"Hai, hai… I can't believe it. My dad's treating my like a junior high delinquent, and even my little sister is making me wash the dishes. What has attending the so-called prestigious Tokyo University _done_ to me?" Makoto muttered.

"Did you hear anything, Mayuri-chan?" asked their father, continuing to tease his son.

"I wonder…" she replied. Then both father and daughter turned to Makoto, with diabolical expressions. The dark aura that they emitted was heavy in the air, almost visible.

The others' evil playfulness finally (and completely) exasperated the unfortunate university student. "Ahh~! I-I've got to go the bathroom! Go ahead and start eating first!" Then he made his escape.

~**on**~

On the same day, Hiruma also walked home. He fiddled with a firearm over his shoulder, still blowing and popping bubbles of sugarless gum every thirty seconds.

Although he enjoyed teasing the manager and liked to see her angry, _Che! 'Mamo-kaasan', that manager… her telling me what to do is starting to seriously annoy me._

Surprised, Hiruma slowed down for a nanosecond in front of Kamiya's house. _This is new. I've never seen this car in their driveway before._ However, he continued walking almost immediately, as if he'd never noticed anything abnormal.

Inside his house, though, he again pulled up his laptop. After logging into his computer, he checked the recordings from his surveillance cameras, slowing down as he viewed the feed coming from the camera observing his neighbors.

Hiruma stiffened. The camera had picked up a suspicious guy driving his tutor home in the car he'd seen on his neighbors' driveway. _First there's half the guys in school trying to mess with MY manager. Now there's a random guy trying to mess with my tutor. They never understand that MY toys are mine ALONE to play with._

Then he did a double-take. _Wait. This guy looks familiar._ He checked the records in his computer as well as his Devil's Handbook. Soon, he found the profile he was looking for in the Devil's Handbook. _Ya-HA! Found it! I was right. Kekekekeke… I even have blackmail on this guy. Well, duh, I have blackmail on nearly all of the people in the area. Hmm._ Hiruma continued reading over the profile he'd found. It read…

Name: Kamiya Makoto  
Info:  
- Second year in Tokyo University.  
- Can be extremely goofy.  
- Idiocy 25-30%  
- Was once framed for cheating on an important exam. NOTE: Useful. Easy blackmail—make it so it seems that he was NOT framed but that he actually did cheat.  
- Lives in dorm. House in Tokyo. Details unknown.  
- Family unknown.  
INCOMPLETE DATA. TO BE FILLED OUT LATER.

_Ahh. 'Kamiya'… most likely is related to the tutor. That explains things. Somewhat. _He filled out the previously incomplete information. However, he put a question mark on the side and made a mental note to himself to ask the 'manager' about it later.

~**off**~

The next morning, Kamiya woke up feeling very groggy, as usual. She'd ignored her cell phone alarm twice already, over the past ten minutes, and she finally got out of bed at 5:40 a.m., even though she had attempted to get herself to wake up earlier by setting the alarm to 5:30 a.m. Unfortunately, that tactic didn't work.

After a quick breakfast, she packed her books and lunch. Then she changed into her green-and-white uniform. She was glad for the peace and quiet, which she was able to enjoy often. Since her brother was often away at school, and since she had no younger siblings, she didn't have much to worry about except school, maintaining the house, and finding a part-time job during high school. And although she'd hate to admit it, she had been procrastinating for over a year and had not yet looked very seriously into finding a job.

As she stood ready to leave, she stopped downstairs and picked up a spare notepad and pen by the telephone. She left a note on the dining table for her father and brother. Then she left for school, with plenty of time to spare, and arrived at school by 6:45 a.m.

Like she'd done the previous day, she first went to her locker. There, she waited for Anezaki, who arrived five minutes later.

The two of them took the following seven minutes for a simple conversation that blossomed after their initial greetings.

Kamiya shared, "Guess what! My older brother came home from his university yesterday!"

"Ahh. Makoto-kun. I can just imagine the ensuing scene…" Anezaki guessed. "He was probably a little bit… silly, and then you would tease him… but your whole family would still have fun. Although you wouldn't have as much fun as you would with your mother Akari-san a couple of years ago…" her tone dropped off sadly.

"Yeah… But we still had a great time! I even made onii-chan wash the dishes! And even my dad played along and teased him!"

Anezaki laughed lightly along with her friend. "Is his university giving the students a break?"

"I think so. Or at least, that's what I was told—that my brother has no classes until this afternoon."

The conversation closed with Anezaki laying out her weekend plans, arranging to hang out together on Sunday at Kamiya's house. Then the girls separated, drifting off among the mass of students as they headed towards their classes.

~**on**~

Kamiya Makoto woke up at eight that morning to an empty house. He left the guest room, went downstairs, and found on the dining table the notepad and pen that had been by the telephone the day before. Curious, he looked over it. It read…

To OTOU-SAN and ONII-CHAN:  
Good morning. (:  
There is bread on the kitchen counter and there are leftovers in the fridge.  
Otou-san, I'm leaving slightly earlier today. I was almost late for school yesterday.  
Onii-chan, as you're probably the last to wake up, please CLEAN UP after you eat.  
And since onii-chan will be leaving, here's an early 'GOOD LUCK!' for you, and a  
byeeee. (:  
(And see you later, otou-san!)  
~Mayuri

Scrawled underneath was another note, this one from their father.

Thank you for the note above, Mayuri.  
Makoto, like I said yesterday, BE RESPONSIBLE and get good grades if you can.  
You shouldn't be goofing off when you're already an adult—with a job—in a prestigious university.  
To both children, good-bye.  
I will be back at seven-thirty today, Mayuri. I have a meeting, so I'll be back a little late.  
Otou-san

The son could only smile. Not like the sun in the morning sky could seem to, but a genuine one nonetheless, with not a single percent of idiocy evident.

* * *

**Author's note**: How was it?!? *jumps up and down with excitement again* This chapter pretty much gave a closer look into the OC's life (or OCs' lives... :P). There will be Canon characters appearing more in the next chapter, though!

Thank you **Ayla the Librarian** and **Mistryl Shadow** for posting more reviews! (:

YA-HAAAA!!! ~ reviewreviewreview!  
*picks up a football lying around and tries to kick it through a goalpost, but fails horribly*  
BONK!  
Hiruma: Hey! WHO hit me on the head with a football?!?  
Togano: Ha?  
Juumonji: HAA?  
Kuroki: HAAAAAAAA?!?  
Huh-huh Bros: NOT US!  
Komusubi: Hn? *smirks at the trio, then turns to face Hiruma* Hugo!  
Hiruma: Was it you, shrimp?  
Kobayakawa: A-Ano… *rubs back of head sheepishly*… No, it wasn't… We were just practicing… but…*avoids looking at the true culprit*  
Me: Ahhh… this is bad. *escapes*  
Hiruma: So THAT's who it was. The one who tried to mess with my guns. *starts shooting off more guns at the fleeing **Kay ex Kay*** Kekekekeke…

*PHEW!* I've 'escaped safely'… so REVIEW PLEASE! Thank you!

* * *

Translations~

_Otou-san_: dad/father

_Onii-chan_: older brother

_Imouto_: little sister (for a guy)

_Konnichiwa_: hello

_Shurimasen / gomen (gomen nasai)_: sorry (Although _shurimasen_ is more formal, I think.)


	7. Chapter 7: Leaving

**Author's note**: 1/22/09: (: enjoy reading! ^^

Disclaimer 1: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri.

Disclaimer 2: OOCness, probably. :P

Disclaimer 3: SPOILER ALERT! (Just in case.)

**In Her Own Little World: aka Stop Cussing, Hiruma!**

Chapter 7: Leaving

~**off**~

After school, Kamiya headed again towards the American football club office. As she neared the building, she spotted Anezaki waving to her, broom in hand.

"Mayuri-chan!" Anezaki called. "Where were you at lunch? I couldn't find you!"

"Ahh, gomen… I think we barely missed each other when we were looking. I couldn't find you or the other two girls either…" Kamiya frowned.

"Oh well," Anezaki replied. "We might as well continue to talk for minute or two, until you have to go inside. So what's new today, other than what you told me this morning?"

The other girl whispered into her friend's ear. Then she stepped back, slightly worried. "Do you think it'll work?"

A knowing smile crept across Anezaki's face. "It might not at first, but it should in the end. I'll help you. Let's go in, then!"

~**on**~

The two girls soon went inside. Apparently, only one person was in the building. Anezaki went off to organize the office, rearranging or putting away what could be rearranged or put away. At the same time, Kamiya walked straight towards the lone figure at a corner table, poring over a file containing what looked to be statistics.

"Hiruma-kun."

The figure looked up at Kamiya's greeting and stared down with an annoyed, 'do not interrupt me when I'm clearly busy doing something' expression. "What. Are you that eager to begin tutoring? I'll be ready after I'm done looking at this!" He waved his papers around, filling the girl's view with multiple sheets.

"Ahh… no… I just came to say that I'm not tutoring you anymore. I mean, you're smart enough already, and you don't really have a problem with what you've asked me for help with, so far…" she answered.

"Kekekeke… really?" Hiruma pulled a little black book out of nowhere and began fingering it.

At this moment, Anezaki approached and berated him. "Hiruma-kun! You are NOT going to threaten my best friend, especially after she helped you the past two days! Just ask her for help when you REALLY need it! Preferably DURING SCHOOL HOURS!" Anezaki glared at Hiruma, hands on her hips.

An intense staredown commenced.

Anezaki was unrelenting. So Hiruma, after a while, thought _What the…? Che! According to previous arguments, the chances that I'm eventually going to lose or give in are around 45%. But the chances that it'll waste a lot of time to win this 'argument' are… 100%! Stubborn managers…overbearing and way too motherly… they annoy me to no end!_

"Fine, whatever," Hiruma gave in. To Anezaki, he continued, "But I only said Kamiya isn't officially my tutor anymore. That doesn't mean I won't be able to coerce any help from her for something else some other time. Now if you two will EXCUSE ME, I'm busy."

"Arigatou, Hiruma-kun!" both replied enthusiastically.

Then the two girls escaped outside for a celebratory cheer.

"It worked! You really helped a lot, Mamori-chan! I'm so glad he actually listens to you, at least sometimes," said Kamiya, once they were far enough outside to be out of Hiruma's range of hearing.

"You're welcome," Anezaki replied. _Actually, I was planning to 'nag him to no end', both now and afterwards, if he didn't give in. _"Well… I'm actually pretty surprised. Things seemed to go a _bit _too smoothly back there. And half the time Hiruma doesn't listen to me either. Anyways, I've got to go." She eyed the American football team members, who were now trickling past the two, heading towards the club office. "So see you tomorrow!"

Then both girls waved goodbye to each other, each leaving as they parted with a "Mata ashita, Mayuri-chan, Mamori-chan!"

~**off**~

Kamiya immediately left for home—after stopping at her locker. At her locker, she readied her backpack with what she'd need for the afternoon's homework; then she folded her jacket and shoved it, too, into her backpack before finally turning to leave. As she walked home, though, she had to face the after-school rush of homeward-bound students. Thankfully, no one stopped to her other than to wave or call out a quick greeting.

Unfortunately, being summer, the temperature had by now escalated to its daytime peak, and the press of the also-overheated bodies of nearby students did not improve the simmering atmosphere. A sheen of sweat broke out and coated her skin, forming miniature droplets that somewhat blew away with a sudden gust of wind.

Soon enough, the traffic on the sidewalks thinned out, and Kamiya breathed a long sigh of relief. By now, there remained approximately one mile to cover before she reached home. During the following twenty minutes, she was able to close her eyes, as she'd done so many times before on the way home from school. Deeper into the residential section of town, the atmosphere was quieter, as the main disturbances were caused by the few vehicles that occasionally whizzed past. She enjoyed having the leisure to close her eyes and seemingly 'space out' on her walk home, when few others would be there to interrupt her. This served as a peaceful intermission out of a busy day. She would be able to listen to (and feel) the outside world from her temporarily sightless perspective, and she would slowly unwind any accumulating stress.

Once she finally reached home, she found her brother's car missing. She coolly unlocked the front door and entered without showing any sign of surprise. Inside, she quickly took a shower before starting to study.

~**on**~

Most of the next day seemed to pass uneventfully. In Kamiya's Japanese (language) class, a research paper was assigned and the students spent the period brainstorming and picking their essay topic. During first period chemistry, the only thing oddly amusing was the teacher's turning around every few minutes; the teacher would glance at Hiruma chewing gum and loudly popping the bubbles—which was technically not allowed on school grounds during school hours—but she would turn back to what she was teaching on the board almost immediately, before starting the entire cycle over again every few minutes. Then when she took English, all her class did was watch the Disney movie "Aladdin" as it was originally produced—in English, with no Japanese subtitles; the class would most likely finish the movie the following day, and write a short essay on the movie next week. Nothing unusual happened in Kamiya's third period art class, where the class was allowed to draw a sketch of their favorite animal—for some reason, she felt like drawing a (beautiful, not ugly) dragon, so she did—a sketch to be completed, hopefully, by the next Monday at the start of the period. During fourth period pre-calculus, she struggled somewhat over the trickier problems, though. And fifth period was spent taking notes on Japanese history.

During sixth period PE, though, things were different. Although nothing was out of the ordinary with the other students, or with the class itself, something subconsciously sparked a renewed ambition in Kamiya. Even Anezaki noticed it.

The PE teacher had told the students, "Class, today we're playing soccer. The boys' and girls' groups will take turns on the field, but first everyone must head to the track oval, where you will run four laps. I'm warning you, though, you will be timed for this mile. So good luck, everyone, and work hard!"

_Yeah… Why _not_ try harder today during the mile? After all, for what I planned this afternoon, I might need the practice…_ Kamiya outfitted herself mentally, determined to really have fun in PE today. She wormed her way through the group and quickly found Anezaki among the students lining up along the starting point. The two managed to exchange a brief greeting before the teacher called the class to order.

"Attention! Class has started, kids—less chatter, please. Save your breath for your exercise," the teacher sternly gave his reminder. "All right. Ready. Set. GO!"

Then the entire class began running the assigned mile. Some broke out into a sprint right away, only to reveal the level of their stamina as they slowed down after sprinting for half a lap. Others picked a steady pace and kept at it. Still others either refused to attempt the mile with any effort, or they were simply unable to keep up with the rest.

Anezaki ran alongside Kamiya for around three hundred meters, but soon dropped off, breathlessly, to a slower pace. _Wow… Mayuri really is 'into' PE class today… normally she doesn't start off this fast, nor does she normally gain such a progressively widening gap from me. She really does love running, doesn't she?_ A knowing smile crept across Anezaki's face as she passed the four-hundred-meter mark, keeping up with the main body of the jogging students.

By this time Kamiya was almost finished with her second lap. Sweat silently ran down her face, arms, and thighs as she struggled to keep her place among the leading runners. _Ahh… seven hundred meters… keep going… must keep going… eight hundred meters. Good, halfway done… wonder if I'll ever be able to slip into that 'runner's high' that I've heard about… okay, one thousand meters done. This is SO tiring. Now my legs feel like lead… comes from not working hard enough to keep in shape. Yaaaa~ one lap left!_

Unbeknownst to her, the sports club boys in front of or immediately behind her started panicking. "Hey! We can't let a GIRL beat us! We're in the sports clubs! We've got to be faster! And isn't this the girl who normally runs way behind us, with that one cute girl, Anezaki? How'd she get here?!?" The males running nearby 'the girl' quickly made efforts to speed up.

Kamiya noticed the guys around her muttering amongst themselves. As they accelerated, she too tried to finish with them. However, by the time the leading group of ten or so students had reached the fourteen-hundred-meter mark, she'd fallen behind, moving from the front four to the front eight. _Oh no! Since I left Mamori's side, I should be making up for it by being much faster! I mean, this IS just 'practice' in PE, but…_

"Good job, Mayuri-chan! Keep going!" cheered Mamori, from several meters behind Kamiya.

"I will!" Kamiya replied, panting in short, quick breaths. _We lapped Mamori already? O_O… alright. You musn't let her down, Mayuri! Get fourth place again, at least!_ She slipped into a temporary sprint for the remaining hundred and fifty meters. Her legs flew to the extent that even her gym shorts started riding up. She hastily pulled them down as she continued to finish the mile.

"… Kamiya, six-seventeen!" the gym teacher called out. Then he continued calling out the times for the people who followed behind her.

She had finished third among the sixth-period PE students. _YESYESYES!!! I FINISHED THIRD! Wow… that is SO cool! And I finished with a great time! … for me, anyway. Maybe I actually CAN do this! I guess all the exercising served as practice and really paid off!_

The guys who finished close to Kamiya walked off breathing heavily, with defeated expressions. In their minds, they were thinking… _O_O. What just HAPPENED there? I shouldn't be forced to try really hard just to avoid being embarrassed! Ugh. Fine, whatever._ Then they became determined to never again allow a girl to beat them in PE.

Kamiya had moved off to the side, clapping for her friends as they finished.

"Anezaki, eight-twenty-three!"

Then the two girls grabbed each other in a bear hug and congratulated each other. Then they went off the track to stretch before joining the class in soccer.

~**off**~

KIII~N! The sound of the bell released the throngs of students, eager to leave their classes as soon as possible.

Anezaki and Kamiya had to 'leave' as well, but for different reasons. After saying goodbye at their locker, the two girls parted and quickly disappeared into the cheery (though noisy) mass of students.

Anezaki headed towards her club office, and being in a good mood, she began to softly hum her favorite song to herself.

On the other hand, Kamiya turned towards the sports club rooms. She looked around, and finally found the one she was looking for.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"C-come in!" called a voice from within.

So she did.

**Author's note**: How was it? :P Hm… which room did the Kamiya knock on? …

Thank you **RoseJustice**,** xDarklightx**, and **Ayla The Librarian** for your reviews (on ch. 6)!! Glad you liked the story/chapter 6!

Thanks for reading, and REVIEW PLEASE! ^^

Translations~

_Shurimasen / gomen (gomen nasai)_: sorry (Although _shurimasen_ is more formal, I think.)

_Mata ashita_: see you tomorrow

_Arigatou (arigatou gozaimasu)_: thank you


	8. Chapter 8: Records

**Author's note**: 1/31/09 (: enjoy reading! ^^

Disclaimer 1: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri (and her immediate family).

Disclaimer 2: OOCness, probably… as well as some purposely off-Canon events. :P

Disclaimer 3: SPOILER ALERT! (Just in case.)

* * *

**In Her Own Little World**

Chapter 8: Records, Replies, and Fishballs

~**on**~

Kamiya had heard someone tell her to "Come in," but for a moment after she opened the door, she didn't see anyone there.

"Hello?" she called, entering (and scanning) the room. "Is anyone here?"

"A-Ano… I'm right here, Kamiya-san…and, um, hello…" stammered a lone figure at a nearby desk, polishing a pair of spikes.

"Ahh, Ishimaru-kun, shurimasen!" The girl panicked. _Oh no! I must have been really offending just now…_ "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you at first!"

"I-it's okay. After all, other people have told me that one of my major talents is, well, being invisible—obscure—" Ishimaru replied.

"Oh! Almost forgot—I would like to join the track club," she remembered. "That's okay, right?"

"Ah, yes, it's all right!" He brightened. _Yes! A recruit! _Then he got up, having finished cleaning his shoes, and turned towards the door. "Here, let's go outside. I'll introduce you to the track team girls, and then we can see how you do, afterwards."

Then Kamiya and Ishimaru headed outside. On the way, Ishimaru asked, "Kamiya-san, which events are you interested in?"

"I'm not sure. Something with running, but definitely not the throwing stuff. Or the jumping—I'd lose for sure once I tried!"

"Right. No disk, shot put, high jump, triple jump, long jump…" Ishimaru suddenly started writing on a notepad he'd produced from, seemingly, out of nowhere.

Once they reached the track oval, Ishimaru quickly singled out two girls. He took them aside and quickly explained the situation.

Right away, the two girls brightened, cheering at the announcement of a new team member. Then they exuberantly hauled Kamiya towards the locker room to change…

~**off**~

Later, after monitoring those practicing the field events, Ishimaru checked on the hurdlers, calling out his observations as he walked past. Then he moved to supervise the sprinters, as they ran repeats around the track.

While watching the sprinters, he spotted the track club's newest member running as well. Kamiya had very recently started her run, as the team manager stood ready to record her time.

She finished a lap and pulled to a sudden stop. Then she quickly rushed across the hurdlers' path towards the manager. The manager briefly spoke in a low voice; immediately afterwards, Kamiya got ready to run again.

"Ready… go!" called the manager as she pressed a button on her stopwatch.

After stopping near the locker rooms at a water fountain, Ishimaru returned to the track oval. He approached the manager to update her on the rest of the team's practice, and he in turn received a sheet of scribbled paper before he left for his own afternoon's workout.

On the sheet of paper, it had read:

PROFILE: Kamiya Mayuri

DOB: 1/17/XXXX

HEIGHT: 161 cm

WEIGHT: ---

EVENTS/TIMES:

- 200 m: 33 seconds

- 400 m: 75 seconds

- 800 m: 170 seconds

- 1600 m: not yet recorded

MANAGER'S NOTES:

_Entry 1: I think this girl is, well, 'not bad.' Her 100 meter time was not very good compared to the rest, so I didn't put them here. But she is competent in the 400 and 800, and she told me she ran 6:17 in the PE class's mile today. I'm putting this girl in the events mentioned above, though I also want her to run in the relays—especially in the 4 by 4 relay. We definitely need enough girls for those events, not just the few we have!_

~**on**~

"Ahhh… so tired! Today was fun, though," Kamiya stretched as she walked home. She smiled. And since presumably no one was looking, she held out her arms (just like a little kid), to the afternoon breeze. _And summer vacation's coming up! Yaaay~!_

"OI! Outta my way, track girl!" A familiar blond male shot rubber bullets all over the surrounding sidewalk, as if to clear his path through pure intimidation. "Teme…! You actually joined that invisible guy's club!"

"Ehh… Hiruma-kun? How did you find out?" There was silence for a moment before the girl continued. "Ahh, never mind… I don't think I even _want_ to know."

"Che. 'Course you don't, _Mayuri-chan_!. Kekekekeke…"

~**off**~

Days passed, and the weeks rolled by with the approach of summer vacation. Together, Kamiya and Anezaki hung out, studied for semester finals, went shopping—half the time for some of Anezaki's errands for football supplies—and in general, spent time together like best friends do, especially over the weekends. Hiruma was unusually docile (compared to his normal mannerisms, anyway), bent on squeezing the last bits of effort out of his team as they practiced for the upcoming football game against the American team. He even got the Amefuto team secretary, Kobayakawa, to practice hard as well—though Anezaki would always interject with something along the lines of "Hiruma-kun! STOB BULLYING SENA!" followed by a "Are you okay, Sena? Don't push yourself too hard!"

As for track, Kamiya kept practicing after school, on most days. Her times improved, and her first meet went well, as she—along with a select few other female track members—helped lead the Deimon High School's (girls') track team to victory over Zokugaku High in the 400 meter relay as well as in her other events.

~**on**~

After almost a month had passed, Kamiya and Anezaki had a major text message conversation.

It was a sleepy Sunday afternoon. Kamiya was busy on the computer, making an online [picture] scrapbook for the sole reason that she was bored. Very bored. The school semester had ended and opened into summer vacation, so she had no homework at all. Her dad was at work, and her brother had returned home for the summer—although at the moment, he was sleeping. Silence had permeated every corner, every shadow of the house.

…clink~! clink~! Several times her cell phone's light ringtone broke the silence, signifying new text messages. After a few minutes, she reached across her desk to answer it.

She opened her cell phone and rubbed her eyes. "Wha…?"

On the screen, a little box read YOU HAVE FIVE NEW MAIL MESSAGES. OPEN?

_This is… interesting. Normally the most I get are two at a time._

She checked them all.

[MESSAGES: JULY 21]

[11:13 AM] A. MAMORI: so sleepy! yesterday i cheered so hard… our team beat the american team yesterday!

[11:15 AM] A. MAMORI: and we lost by one point! just ONE POINT! we lost 32-33… :( poor eyeshield-kun fainted at the end…

[11:16 AM] A. MAMORI: mayuri? ok ill text you later. anyway now i am packing for the airport. we r flying to the US today.

[1:47 PM] MAKONII: hehe i want ice cream for some reason… I WANT MY ICE CREAM! on second thought… i m going to bed.

[4:25 PM] A. MAMORI: we're in the airport now! we r leaving in the plane in half an hour but now we r just waiting. u?

_She's leaving? Oooh. *Faint recollection of a previous announcement* No wonder, now I remember – they'd bet that if they didn't win that one game they'd leave Japan! O_o!_

Kamiya sent a reply to Anezaki.

[SENT TO A. MAMORI] *faints* aww mamori-chan is leaving mayuri behind! ooh and i am not doing much right now…

A few minutes later, more messages arrived.

[4:34 PM] A. MAMORI: Kekekekeke!

She laughed softly. _Ahahaha~ I can just hear a "STOP THAT HIRUMA-KUN" right now…_

[4:37 PM] A. MAMORI: got my phone back… T_T. anyways, i'll be gone for over a week. ):

[SENT TO A. MAMORI] over a WEEK!? *cries* oh well i hope you have fun there! bring me back a souvenir? :3

[4:42 PM] A. MAMORI: oh yeah! and yesterday's game was really good! LOL i m gonna invite u sometime! hang on brb

[4:50 PM] A. MAMORI: i was in the bathroom.. :3 long line but now i m out! … ahh gtg plane is leaving really soon

[SENT TO A. MAMORI] kay have a great flight… bathroom. (:… ttyl WAIT your phone isnt international! how will we talk later…*wails*

[4:52 PM] A. MAMORI: thanx… no prob, i have a feeling someone is gonna take care of that… hopefully… byeee

[SENT TO A. MAMORI] bye~! (:

"YO! 'sup, imouto?"

Kamiya jumped. "YIII!"

"Haha… I WANT MY ICE CREAM!" Kamiya's older brother leaned against her doorway, grinning widely. "You hungry? After my nap, I definitely am! I'm going out—want me to bring anything back?"

_What a way to spend a lazy afternoon. Gotta love these days of vacation…_

"Yes! My favorite fried fishballs from that one store exactly half a mile west of school, please!"

Makoto sweatdropped. "Ahh… okaaaay." _Interesting how her request was exact yet simultaneously somewhat vague…_ "Are you sure?"

"YES! GOGOGOGOGO!"

And she pushed her brother completely out the door.

* * *

**Author's note**: How was it? [=

YAAAAAY~!!! Semester finals are over! Interesting how it kinda coincided with a part of this chapter… O_o…

Awww~! I read ES21 chapter 315 (it came out today) and I SO want to find out Sena's new 40 yard dash time! :3 lol…

Thanks for reading, and REVIEW PLEASE! ^^

* * *

Translations~

_Shurimasen / gomen (gomen nasai)_: sorry (Although _shurimasen_ is more formal, I think.)

_Imouto_: little sister (for a guy)

Please tell me if anything's wrong with the translations (and of course the rest of the story... :P)! Thank you!


	9. Chapter 9: Confusion

**Author's note**: 2/22/09: enjoy reading! ^^

Disclaimer 1: I don't own Eyeshield 21, but I do own Kamiya Mayuri (and her immediate family).

Disclaimer 2: OOCness, probably… as well as some purposely off-Canon events. :P

Disclaimer 3: SPOILER ALERT! (Just in case.)

* * *

**In Her Own Little World**

Chapter 9: Confusion: of Family, of Friends, and of Self

~**off**~

During the days of her best friend's absence, Kamiya took the advantage to practice running. Instead of taking public transportation—or making her brother drive her—she would run as she completed errands.

Although for the errands that required more traveling, she _would_ take a wheeled vehicle, some way or another.

Unfortunately, a week or two into summer vacation, Anezaki called from America to say that she would be unable to return home as soon as expected. She told Kamiya that "The whole team will probably be staying over another month and a half."

Once Anezaki and her team returned to Japan, though, they were very busy. Kamiya began to spend more time with her newfound track buddies, rather than spending her weekends with Anezaki as often as they had before.

~**on**~

The workload of an American football team manager, as well as that of a discipline committee officer and a reputable student, began to take its toll on Anezaki.

The first two weeks of the team's return to Japan found Anezaki almost always busy in the clubroom. "File this. Okay. I've got to get these papers signed ahead of time… And I have to finalize the team's schedule. Oh no! I forgot—"

"Oi, manager! Talking to yourself again?" called a voice from the doorway. "It's already nine. Go home."

"Stop that, Hiruma-kun. You're distracting me," Anezaki asserted. "The fall tournament starts tomorrow! I have to finish my manager's duties! And you'd better be thankful, okay?" Her voice sounded strained, even as she lightly scolded the captain.

"Che! Fine. _I'm_ going home, then," he muttered as he walked away.

~**off**~

Several more weeks passed. Anezaki and the rest of the Deimon Devil Bats began the fall football tournament in high spirits. They had trained long and hard days—no, weeks—throughout the entire summer, and had improvements to show for their efforts…

~**on**~

"Mako-nii? Wanna take a break from school next weekend?"

The football season had kicked off to a great start for her friend's team as September neared its end. Kamiya was currently on the phone with her brother, in the progress of convincing him to join her in watching one of the Devil Bats' upcoming games.

"Maybe," her brother replied. "What kind of 'break' will it be?"

"We'll go to watch one of Mamori's team's games. The next one is on Sunday, the 25th," Kamiya answered. [1]

"I don't really want to, Mayu-chan…" said Makoto. "Unless you can tell me with logical reasons that their game will be good. JUST KIDDING! I'll probably go, don't break down on me!"

"Yaaay~!!" she cheered. "Their game is supposed to be good! Mamori told me about their other ones too. She said that their team improved a lot over the summer, and that's why she wasn't able to come back to Japan until almost the time school started again. They were in America doing amazingly hard training! And Mamori told me that they won their first two games in the tournament! Wait, let me check the note she passed me earlier…" She paused. "They won 38-8 against the Amino Cyborgs, and they won 56-6 against the Yuuhi Guts! Doesn't Mamori's team sound great? We've got to go cheer them on!"

"Hai, Hai…" Makoto sweatdropped. "Yes, they sound great. I'll come. Which team is Mamori's team playing next?" _Actually, though, I barely remember those teams from when I was in high school…_

"They'll be playing the Kyoshin Poseidons," she replied. "Mamori said they'd watched Kyoshin's last game and said they were really good! So it SHOULD be an exciting game!"

"… Well, that's good." He paused. "Wait. Don't tell me you suddenly want to go because a guy called you?" He asked suspiciously.

"NONONO, it's not like that! Mamori had been asking me for a while! … Though you're partially right… but only partially! PARTIALLY! And you can probably already guess who called me! You of all people should know!"

"Okaaay… if you say so. Then I'll be home on Saturday afternoon. I have to leave after dinner on Sunday though. Bye then!"

"Kay byeee~!!" she finished.

Kamiya immediately sent a text message to Anezaki.

[SENT TO A. MAMORI] mamori-chan!!! i am going to sunday's game~! with makonii. save spots for us? thank you

~**off**~

That Sunday, Kamiya and her brother managed to arrive at the stadium in which her friend's team was to play. At the moment, they were lost in the crowds milling the bleachers.

"Meh… I can't find anyone…" Kamiya grumbled. "I guessed that these Amefuto games would be crowded, but not this crowded!"

"All right. I'll look around too, and meanwhile I'm going to buy some snacks. Call me if you find them and our seats!" her brother replied.

"Mamori's team against the Kyoshin Poseidons… that'll be so cool!" she sighed dreamily. She quickly tiptoed off the edge of one of the bleachers, shading her eyes with one hand as she scanned the arena. Her other hand held tightly to her bag. "Mamori… Mamori… Mamori… I don't see her!"

From the corner of her eye, someone familiar was waving frantically in her direction. Kamiya turned to spot Anezaki approaching her with a shorter, bluish-haired girl in a cheerleading outfit.

"Mayuri-chan! Hiii~!! I'm glad you could come!" exclaimed Anezaki happily. "Oh yeah! Let me introduce Taki Suzuna, our unofficial cheerleader. Suzuna-chan, this is my best friend Kamiya Mayuri."

"Yoroshiku, Mayuriin~!!" Suzuna gushed, her voice oozing cheerfulness. She _was_ a cheerleader, after all.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Suzuna-chan," Kamiya replied.

"Are you going to watch me cheer? YAAAA~!! GO DEVIL BATS~!!!" Suzuna demonstrated, drawing several odd stares.

Anezaki interjected, "Oh yeah! I saved seats for you!"

She led Kamiya towards a small section of the bleachers in the midst of the Deimon fans and spectators. Several bags occupied the reserved area.

"These are our extra bags of food and clothes. Please watch them for us… and, well, we've got to go soon. Would you please take some pictures with your camera, please, Mayuri? Thanks! Let's hurry, Suzuna-chan!" Anezaki and Suzuna then left, almost as quickly as they'd come.

After saying goodbye to the two girls, Kamiya sat down. As she called her brother to tell him about the seats, she took the chance to look around.

All around her, the excited chattering of the crowds electrified the atmosphere. Apparently, most of the Kyoshin fans were occupying the bleachers across the stadium. _They_ seemed even more excited than those on the generally "Deimon side" of the bleachers.

Her brother finally found their seats just as the athletes made their entrance. The excitement in the air heightened as the spectators called out the player's names. Across the stadium, the Kyoshin spectators, also caught in the excitement, had started up a 'wave' and had begun cheering in rhythm.

"Makonii! You're just in time!" Kamiya cried exuberantly.

"Yeah? I guess so," he replied.

Far below, a miniature Anezaki could be seen camera in hand, waiting at a bench just off the sidelines of the field. The cheerleaders and athletes finished last-minute preparations.

"Hey? That tall Kyoshin cheerleader looks familiar," muttered Makoto.

"Which one? Oh—ahahaha~! Yes, he is. What a major goofball! Mizumachi-kun is just too funny!" she laughed.

The 'cheerleader' in question then performed a stunning somersault mini-show for the audience before he swiftly changed into his game uniform and rejoined his humiliated teammates.

Then, each team huddled for their pre-game chant before taking their positions...

As the game progressed with amazing plays by both Deimon and Kyoshin, the crowds became even more excited.

So did Kamiya. She cheered left and right, "Go Mizumachi-kun! Nice play, Komusubi-kun! GO DEVIL BATS! Go Poseidons! Go Shun-chan~!"

At her last phrase, people from around her began to give her odd looks. Finally, her brother asked her, "Mayu-chan… you know, people are staring because you keep cheering for Kyoshin too. And the people around us aren't exactly the best Kyoshin fans. Not to mention your somewhat obvious favoritism in the midst of the _opponent_ of Mamori's team."

"Why? Isn't that normal? Of course Shun-chan would be my favorite," she blinked innocently.

And throughout the rest of the game, Kamiya continued cheering for both sides.

~**on**~

During the halftime break, Hiruma finally got a chance to have a nice, long drink of water as he rested half a bench away from Anezaki.

He'd been eyeing a particular girl the entire time, and he didn't really like her cheering habits. Sometimes, he just wished he didn't have such sensitive ears. _Hey… she's MY neighbor, MY tutor! Che! And she's cheering for our OPPONENTS! Someone needs to teach that girl a lesson… and what's up with the 'Shun-chan'?_

"Hey, manager. Did you get a good video so far? I'd like to see it before we start again."

"Yessir, right away!" Anezaki was in a good mood today. Her fingers deftly whisked about as she complied with his request.

_Good. The game is progressing exactly as planned_, Hiruma thought. _With the score 0-7, we still have a very high chance for a good comeback. Kekekeke…._

~**off**~

"POSEIDON! DEIMON! POSEIDON! DEIMON!" The cheers of the audience grew deafening at the close of the game. The two teams had alternated in scoring touchdowns. The Poseidons had shown their strength with the tactics of its several extremely tall members and the previously unrevealed plays 'High Wave' and 'Poseidon', successfully countering many of the Devil Bats' scoring attempts. The Devil Bats also performed well, as they 'evolved' over the course of the game with new plays such as Eyeshield 21's 'Devil Bat Hurricane' and 'Devil Bat Dive', as well as the coordinate team effort in pulling off the complicated 'Wishbone' play that had quite defeated the Poseidons. Overall, the Deimon team had in the end clinched the score with brilliant plays, scoring a touchdown even during the last two seconds of the game; they ended up closely finishing the game with a winning score of 18-17.

At the moment, some of those watching might have noticed that the tall American junior high ace Kakei Shun and the rising star Eyeshield 21 were having their own private little talk in the center of the field. From the expression of Deimon's cheerleading captain as well as that of the Devil Bats' wide receiver, their conversation must have been rather oddly humorous…

~**on**~

After the athletes had disappeared into their respective team locker rooms for a while, and the crowd had begun to ease a little, Makoto told his sister, "I'm leaving now. But I have to say, that game _was_ exciting! Very, in fact. I'm glad you invited me, and I'm glad I came. I'm also glad to see that s_omeone_ has improved a lot in his football skills over the years. Sayonara, Mayu-chan…"

"Already leaving?" Kamiya pouted. "Okay bye Makonii! Thanks for coming with me!" _Awww and Mamori is busy cleaning up down there… too bad it's kind of off-limits to spectators._

Then she headed to wait outside the exits to the team locker rooms.

After a few minutes, the members for both teams began to trickle out. Soon she spotted who she was waiting for.

"HiHi SHUN-CHAN~!!! I haven't seen you in FOREVER! GLOMP ATTACK!" Kamiya exuberantly grabbed the slightly perturbed Kakei as he emerged from the locker rooms.

"Oh… hello, Mayuri-chan," he replied. Regaining his composure, he dropped his sports bag and hugged Kamiya back. "I'm glad you could come. I was afraid you might not," he teased.

"Of course I would! Anyway, Mamori-chan had asked me before. I just hadn't decided when to go, and this seemed like the best time."

~**off**~

As the athletes continued to trickle out of the locker rooms, the playful twosome, Kamiya and Kakei, began to attract greater attention.

Among the Kyoshin group, someone whispered enviously, "Who's that with Kakei?"

Two other extremely tall boys, one with blond hair and glasses and one with dark spiky hair, began arguing. "She looks familiar," the dark-haired guy, Ohira Hiroshi, claimed.

"Of course she does! Kakei introduced her once to the team!" cried the blond Onishi Hiroshi. "He brought her to one of those underclassmen dances, I think."

"Well, I noticed first. So I ought to be, for sure, Master Kakei's Number One Disciple!" Ohira proudly exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? I told you before, _I_ am Master Kakei's Number One Disciple! I'll bet you don't even remember the girl's name!" retorted Onishi.

"You two, break it up," remarked Kakei's goofy buddy Mizumachi Kengo, who was for some reason only wearing his favorite khaki boxers.

"Good job, Mizumachi!" interjected another. "I was going to say that too, of course, but I thought it might be better for an underclassman to be the mediator—"

"And please, Ohira, Onishi, stop calling me 'Master'! We're the same age! And I_ told_ you guys already today," Kakei announced seriously.

"… Anyways, hello, Mayuri-chan!" Mizumachi greeted. "Nice to meet you again."

"You too, Mizumachi-kun!" she replied.

Suddenly, Mizumachi froze. He pointed to the enormous evil aura that was cackling from behind Kakei…

~**on**~

Hiruma had been watching the scene ever since he'd slipped, unnoticed, out of the locker rooms. He had been in a rather good mood, for him anyway, after the Deimon chibis had showed their determination and _won_ the game. He didn't even feel like nagging the others for taking so long to change.

However, he was in for quite a shock as he saw who was hugging his opponent. Not that he didn't respect Kakei, but to have his tutor hanging on to him… that felt like a pure _insult_. It felt horrible, actually. _To think she rejected being my tutor but would just go grab my opponent in front of my eyes…_ "Che!"

He fiercely blew another bubble of sugarless gum. Then he whipped out his favorite out of his many choice firearms, his trusty AK-47, and stationed himself behind the offender…

~**off**~

… Which brings things to the current situation.

The malevolent ghostly aura exuded by Hiruma simmered as he kept his firearms pointed towards Kakei, who slowly turned around to face the figure Mizumachi had been pointing at.

"Hiruma-kun!" gasped Kamiya.

He remained silently staring towards her blue-haired counterpart.

Suddenly Mizumachi burst out laughing. "I get it! He wants to play hide and seek, RPG version, right? I want to play too!" He instantly reverted to 'playful mode'…

"Hiruma-san, please lower that gun. Is there anything you need me to help you with?" Somehow, the seemingly unfazed Kakei managed to retain his serious expression.

Hiruma only nudged his gun towards Kamiya, who was still standing beside Kakei from the time they were talking not too much earlier.

For a moment, all the athletes in the surrounding area remained eerily silent, including those who were more recently emerging from the locker rooms.

Finally, Kakei broke the silence. He looked at Kamiya, and ventured, "Oh. I see."

"Ah-ha-ha~! I see Hiruma-san too!" cried the overly flexible Taki male from the background.

"… Anyway, if you wanted to know—" Kakei broke off. "Mayuri is my cousin."

"WHAAAA?!?" The others, who had either forgotten or otherwise had not known, seemed to gasp in unison. Only Mizumachi and the two 'Disciples' remained calm, if not somewhat smug.

Only Anezaki, who had just barely arrived at the scene, had known the full truth and was the one who rescued Kamiya from the commotion.

"Oh hi everyone! And yes, Kakei-kun is Mayuri-chan's cousin. And yes, they have been very close since childhood, even though Kakei-kun went to America as an exchange student for a while. Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking her with me…" And the relieved Anezaki quickly dragged Kamiya away.

~**on**~

That night, as Hiruma sat in his temporary house typing away into the darkness as he usually did, he tried to dissect the surprisingly new information he'd discovered.

_So. The girl is Kakei's cousin? How did I not know about that? My network is supposed to be faultless regarding the people I have to pay extra attention to. What happened?_

_And I know I'd been hoping she'd come watch my games. So why does it bug me that it seems she only came because of her cousin and because of the manager?_

_I know the manager has been in fairly close touch with the girl, though recently the manager has been more busy because of the fall tournament… so why didn't she watch our earlier games? And why does she drag her partly bipolar brother around?_

"Che!" A popup kept disturbing his expert hacking processes, and it was _very_ annoying.

"Mayuri-chan was also doing… _uggghh_… with the fox-eyes," Hiruma complained under his breath. [2]

_Wait. Did I just say what I think I did?_ He pinched himself._ Yep, I'm awake. I'm sober. I can't be delusional._

_Or can I?_

_Why do I feel as if I wish, for that moment, I were able to take Kakei's place?_

_Am I jealous of the fox-eyes?_

… _No. That can't be it.

* * *

_**Author's note**: How was it? [= Please review! They would be greatly appreciated. ^^

Lol in this chapter (and others, both previous/future), siblings will be differentiated by name. For example, in the Kamiya (OC) family, the brother, Makoto, is referred to by first name because his sister Mayuri (who is referred to by last name) is mentioned more often. This will be the case with the Taki siblings too – but though Suzuna will have more involvement, she will be referred to by first name, mainly because even in the anime/manga she'd asked to be called by her first/given name instead of her family name. So when you see the name "Taki" outside of dialogue, it's referring to Taki Natsuhiko. xDD

* * *

Thank you for all the reviews~

And to…

**RoseJustice**: lol, no the rating for this story will probably not go up. Or did I say that already? O.O

**Ayla The Librarian**: Ohayo Ayla-chan! ^^ Death March issue fixed, ne? [- is the usage here wrong? O_O]

**xDarklightx**: O.O I was so disappointed when Sena's run turned out all weird and slow… but Mizumach and Agon's hair, and in ch. 318 with Sena, the balcony, and Sakuraba—pure hilarity! xDD Right?

**Ikari's Shadow**: meh, who knows… Hiruma was probably just bluffing. Anyways the OOCness warning accounts for that, right? =D

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Translations:

_Yoroshiku_: [This means, in effect, that it's] Nice to meet you.

_Sayonara_: [Good] bye

_Chibi(s)_: little, cute, childish, youthful (etc.) [person(s)]

Please tell me if anything's wrong with the translations! Thank you!

* * *

References (just in case of unreliable memories like mine)

[1] I'm not sure about the exact date of the game. I checked the manga, and in vol. 12, ch. 102, the game for Deimon Devil Bats vs. Yuuhi Guts is set for 9/18… so I just assumed and added a week for the Deimon vs Kyoshin [Poseidon] game's date.

[2] Oh yeah! "Fox-eyes" was Hiruma's nickname for Kakei Shun of the Kyoshin Poseidons.


End file.
